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Faulty assumptions and unwanted features of most web design tools
by
@londoner
https://cloudfour.com/thinks/faulty-assumptions-and-unwanted-features-of-most-web-design-tools/
This freaking post... is too accurate haha.
I wish there was a version of Webflow that could spit out React components and communicate updates on the dev end to the designer. It would solve a lot of the nuance between design and engineering.
Great work @londoner
"On the development side, reuse is common so long as the design system team provides components in a format others can adopt." - it seems hard to believe but I've worked on so many projects where this simply wasn't the case and it's such an annoying way to stall the process.
years later, you'll have multiple methods that does something similar and people would use it incorrectly, causing difficult bugs...
but yes, it's true, sometimes it's better to write custom methods than try to fix the existing methods
Thank you! He mentions: "the developer is well-regarded for their HTML, CSS and JavaScript skills, but they are not a trained designer" - I had a (heated) discussion with a friend recently because he said if a developer can't design, and a designer can't develop, they're both doomed. He thinks people would always hire a developer who can design and a designer who can develop, never one person for each. To what extent do people agree?
I totally disagree with your friend too. You might be able to charge a higher fee the more holistic of a service you can provide, but saying a developer has to also be a designer is like saying they also need to be a copywriter and a photographer...what happened to teamwork?
Good point. Many times, two independent specialists are needed, especially depending on the size of the project.
By the way, I'm looking for feedback on DarkColors, a tool to visually test website color ideas: https://www.darkcolors.digital/workspace
Actually, I agree with your friend. 😬 I don't think they're doomed but...they won't be the best in the biz either. For example, in his following article (where he details his design process), the author flat out says that the reason his team is able to implement such a responsive design is because their "secret sauce" is that, "Our designers code and our developers went to art school." He says that other teams that don't have this combo just can't do what they do.
This is pretty common for people to think about such skills if someone is well versed in programming of course they can do UI/UX/design work. However if such a person existed that had amazing development skills AND design/UX AND business strategy they wouldn't be at the common compensation level for any of these professions, rather they would be a unicorn in their own right and would command really high rates. And they likely would have their own product or service to build than someone else's if they were that gifted.